On my MM3 mill the non-driven roller will get stuck now and then. It’s inconsistent so I normally drop a few grains in before pouring in the whole batch (as someone mentioned earlier). I think whatever is stopping it get caught between the dead roller and the bottom roller, sort of like something ends up on the wrong side of the roller for some reason. When it gets stuck, I have to turn the lower roller backwards by hand and it generally works fine from that point on.
My old BC worked great until the teeth got too smooth. Sent it back to be reconditioned and it worked for half as long as the first time.
You can buy replacement rollers for your Barley Crusher for $59 at:
My BC stopped grabbing the grain and I tried everything: cleaning, lubrication, reversing the non-driven roller., etc. That worked for awhile. I finally gave up and bought the replacement rollers listed above. They are now starting to have problems, and I haven’t used them nearly as much as the originals. The rollers are cheaper than buying a new mill, but after several sets it stops making sense.
I blow out the mill with compressed air after every batch. Still have issues. And for $59 for new rollers I’ll just get a new mill thanks. Probably a three roller monster mill so I can be like the cool kids. For real this mill died early.
I like my 3 roller mill but I have more issues with it, generally, than I did with a 2 roller. If I ever need to buy a third mill I would look at 2 rollers with larger barrel rollers. More surface area and less places for issues to occur. YMMV (of course)
I think large diameter rollers are key. I bought a BrewTek mill from Brewers Resource over 20 years ago, and I went with that one because it has 2" diameter rollers. After 20 plus years and well over 2000 lbs the mill is still running strong. I hope it never dies because this mill is no longer made.
Do any of the current mills come with 2" diameter rollers?
I think I paid about $140 back in the day. Not sure what that would equal now with 20 plus years of inflation, but I’ve certainly got my money’s worth.
I’ve had this happen to my Barley Crusher. You mentioned it was with the hopper full and maybe you were tight on time. I’ve had success opening the gap slightly and then running the grain a second time on a tighter setting.
It was workable and got me through a brew day. Afterwards, I would disassemble, clean and relubricate the rollers (which seems to buy me a couple of years before I need to clean it again). I’ve had mine for about 15 years and I’ve had the clean it 3 times (I think).